JAKARTA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A search and rescue operation is underway for a speedboat carrying 11 foreign tourists that went missing off Gorontalo province in eastern Indonesia, local authorities said on Saturday.
The speedboat, carrying 11 tourists from European countries as well as two Indonesian crew members, departed from a dive resort in Central Sulawesi on Friday morning and was bound for a port in Gorontalo. It was scheduled to arrive at around 11:00 a.m. local time but failed to reach its destination.
"We received a report on Friday and immediately launched a search operation," Heriyanto, head of the Gorontalo Search and Rescue Office, said on Saturday.
Heriyanto said joint rescue teams resumed sweeps early Saturday, deploying three search units across the vessel's estimated route and surrounding waters.
As of Saturday afternoon, neither the vessel nor any of the 13 people on board had been located. ■
